Shelf bottle pusher system

ABSTRACT

A product display unit for a displaying a plurality of products thereon is disclosed. The product display unit comprises a bottom member, a first rib, and a second rib. The bottom member includes a product-supporting surface. The first rib projects upwardly from the product-supporting surface and extends longitudinally along the bottom member. The second rib projects upwardly from the product-supporting surface and extends longitudinally along the bottom member, such that a distance is defined between the first rib and the second rib. The distance between the first rib and the second rib is dimensioned to be less than the widest portion of a product configured to be supported by the bottom member between the first rib and the second rib.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/060,330 filed on Jun. 10,2008, the entire contents of which being herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to displaying products on ashelf. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system foroptimizing the number of products displayable on a shelf.

Various types of product displays are commonly used in retailenvironments to display different types of products. As opposed tosimply positioning products on shelves, product displays are commonlyused to position products on a shelf in manner which automaticallyadvances (e.g., via gravity or a pusher) a trailing or distal product(i.e., a product that is behind a lead or proximal-most product) closerto a user once the lead product has been removed from the shelf. As canbe appreciated, such product displays facilitate the arrangement andupkeep of products, as the trailing products don't have to be manuallymoved towards the front of the shelf, for instance.

Additionally, it is often desirable to maximize the amount of products aretailer can display on a single shelf. More specifically, retailersgenerally want as many products to fit side-by-side (or horizontally) ona shelf as possible to take full advantage of all of the shelf space(e.g., in a refrigerated display).

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a product display unit for adisplaying a plurality of products thereon. The product display unitcomprises a bottom member, a first rib, and a second rib. The bottommember includes a product-supporting surface. The first rib projectsupwardly from the product-supporting surface and extends longitudinallyalong the bottom member. The second rib projects upwardly from theproduct-supporting surface and extends longitudinally along the bottommember, such that a distance is defined between the first rib and thesecond rib. The distance between the first rib and the second rib isdimensioned to be less than the widest portion of a product configuredto be supported by the bottom member between the first rib and thesecond rib.

The present disclosure also relates to a system for displaying bottles.The system comprises at least one bottom member and a plurality of ribs.The bottom member includes a product-supporting surface. Each rib of theplurality of ribs projects upwardly from the product-supporting surfaceand extends longitudinally along the bottom member. Two adjacent ribsdefine a distance therebetween. The distance between adjacent ribs isdimensioned to be less than the widest portion of a bottle configured tobe supported by the bottom member between the adjacent ribs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described hereinbelow withreference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a system for displaying items on a shelfaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure illustrated withbottles thereon;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a portion of the system illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of two bottles side-by-side on a portion of thesystem illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of a portion of the system illustrated in FIGS.1-3;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the system illustrated in FIGS. 1-4; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the system illustrated in FIGS. 1-5.

DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the presently disclosed system for displaying productsare described in detail with reference to the drawings wherein likenumerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of theseveral views. As is common in the art, the term “proximal” refers tothat part or component closer to the user, e.g., customer, while theterm “distal” refers to that part or component farther away from theuser.

In combination with the accompanying FIGS. 1-6, a system 100 fordisplaying products of the present disclosure is described herein. Inthe illustrated embodiments, system 100 is shown having a plurality ofbottles “B” thereon. As can be appreciated, the items displayed bysystem 100 are not limited to bottles, as any suitable product can beused with system 100.

System 100 can be used to display/dispense bottles “B” (or othersuitable objects) on a flat shelf and/or a declined shelf (or inclined).As can be appreciated, when system 100 is used on a flat (or inclined)shelf, a pusher 110 (e.g., spring loaded) may be used with system 100 tohelp urge the bottles “B” proximally towards the user. When system 100is used on a declined shelf (i.e., angled downward towards the user),system 100 does not necessarily include a pusher 110. In suchembodiments, the bottles “B” are gravity fed proximally. Although pusher110 is shown and described in connection with the illustratedembodiments, the present disclosure includes system 100 without apusher.

As shown in the accompanying figures, system 100 includes pusher 110, abottom member 120, a top member 130, support members 140, ribs 150 and aproximal rail 160. Bottom member 120 is configured to support aplurality of products (e.g., bottles “B”) thereon. Top member 130 isconfigured to help guide a top portion of the products (e.g., thecap/neck area of a bottle “B”) in a distal-to-proximal direction.Support members 140 are engagable with bottom member 120 and top member130, and are configured to support top member 130 above bottom member120.

As can be appreciated, support members 140 may be configured in varyingheights “h,” such that system 100 can display products of variousheights. Additionally, support members 140 may be configured in variouswidths “w” (i.e., the width between adjacent ribs 150), such that system100 can display products of various widths.

With particular reference to FIG. 3, ribs 150 extend from bottom member120 towards top member 130 and are configured to help maintain bottles“B” on bottom member 120 (i.e., to help prevent bottles “B” from movinghorizontally off of bottom member 120 or towards an adjacent bottommember 120). Proximal rail 160 (see FIG. 1, for example) is configuredto resist the force of pusher 110 and/or gravity, thus helping preventthe products from falling proximally off of the shelf.

More particularly, ribs 150 are configured such that they projectupwardly from bottom member 120 and extend longitudinally therealong.Ribs 150 project upwardly from bottom member 120 a distance that enableshorizontally adjacent bottles “B” to contact (or substantially contact)one another. That is, ribs 150 are sized such that the entire rib 150,including its upper-most edge 152, is able to fit under the widestportion of the bottle “B,” thus allowing the rib 150 to take advantageof the space produced by the contour of the bottle “B.” Moreparticularly, the distance (i.e., width “w”) between adjacent ribs 150is dimensioned to be less than the widest portion of the product held onthe bottom member 120 between the same adjacent ribs 150.

In envisioned embodiments, upper-most edge 152 of rib 150 extendsbetween about 0.25 inches and about 1.25 inches from aproduct-supporting surface 122 of bottom member 120 (i.e., the height ofrib). For example, it is envisioned that the height of rib 150 may beapproximately equal to 0.6875 inches. It is also envisioned that system100 can be used to display a product that does not include such acontour. In such uses, ribs 150 would contact the widest portion of theproducts, as opposed to being positioned beneath the widest portion.

It is envisioned that ribs 150 are integrally formed with bottom member120 and/or are configured to mechanically engage bottom member 120(e.g., via a snap fit connection, or other suitable means). It is alsoenvisioned that system 100 includes interchangeable ribs 150 of varioussizes, such that system 100 is usable with a variety of products. Forexample, it is envisioned that system 100 includes one set of ribs 150that include a height of between about 0.25 inches and about 0.75 inchesand a second set of ribs that include a height of between about 0.75inches and about 1.25 inches.

As discussed above, top member 130 is configured to help guide a topportion of the products in a distal-to-proximal direction. Moreparticularly, top member 130 includes a channel 132 longitudinallyextending therealong. Channel 132 is defined by a pair of channel walls134 on either side. The width “w1” of channel 132 is dimensioned toallow the neck area of a product or bottle (e.g., the cap of the bottle)to fit therein and to freely slide along the length of channel 132.

It is envisioned that a single top member 130 is used to guide aplurality of horizontally adjacently positioned products, or that asingle top member 130 is used to guide a single row (e.g., “R1,” “R2,”“R3,” etc.) of products. In both embodiments, top member 130 isconfigured such that the width “w2” of top member 130 associated with asingle row of products is dimensioned to be less than or equal to (i.e.,not wider than) the widest portion of a product (e.g., bottle “B”)configured to be supported by bottom member 120.

Thus, ribs 150 and top member 130 are configured to allow products inhorizontally adjacent rows and/or columns to contact (or substantiallycontact) one another. Consequently, the components of system 100 do notutilize any (or essentially any) valuable horizontal shelf space (i.e.,in the direction of arrow “H-H” in FIG. 3).

Support members 140 may be configured and spaced as illustrated or maybe arranged and sized in any other suitable manner. As shown, theproximal-most support member 140 may include a curved corner to helpfacilitate access to the proximal-most product.

It is also envisioned that system 100 could be configured to hold anddisplay a plurality of rows of products. As such, system 100 may includeseveral rows of bottom members 120, top members 130, and ribs 150 thatare either integrally connected, connectable, adjacently positionable orany combination thereof. Further, several systems 100 may be placedside-by-side on a shelf. Still further, system 100 may be configuredsuch that another system 100 (or other suitable product display device)may be stacked on top of first system 100.

The versatility of system 100 is further appreciated in envisionedembodiments, as portions of the disclosed system 100 are usable withoutother portions of the system 100. For example, depending on the type ofproduct or products a user wishes to display, a user can use bottommember 120, ribs 150 and proximal rail 160, without support members 140and top members 130. To facilitate such a contemplated use, variouscomponents may be readily connectable (e.g., via a snap-fit connectionor other suitable means) with other components. For instance, supportmembers 140 may be connectable with top member 130, proximal rail 160and/or bottom member 120. Additionally, it is envisioned that anothertype of top member 130 (e.g., a top member 130 without structure forguiding the cap/neck area of a bottle “B”) may be used in combinationwith other components of system 100.

While several embodiments of the disclosure have been shown in thefigures, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto, asit is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art willallow and that the specification be read likewise. Therefore, the abovedescription should not be construed as limiting, but merely asexemplifications of various embodiments. Those skilled in the art willenvision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claimsappended hereto.

1. A product display unit for a displaying a plurality of productsthereon, the product display unit comprising: a bottom member includinga product-supporting surface; a first rib projecting upwardly from theproduct-supporting surface and extending longitudinally along the bottommember; and a second rib projecting upwardly from the product-supportingsurface and extending longitudinally along the bottom member, such thata distance is defined between the first rib and the second rib; whereinthe distance between the first rib and the second rib is dimensioned tobe less than the widest portion of a product configured to be supportedby the bottom member between the first rib and the second rib.
 2. Theproduct display unit of claim 1, wherein an upper-most edge of the firstrib extends between about 0.25 inches and about 1.25 inches from theproduct-supporting surface.
 3. The product display unit of claim 1,further comprising a top member disposed in mechanical cooperation withthe bottom member, the top member configured to mechanically engage anupper portion of a product.
 4. The product display unit of claim 3,wherein the top member includes a longitudinally extending channel, thechannel being configured to guide a top portion of the product in alongitudinal direction.
 5. The product display unit of claim 3, whereinthe width of the top member associated with a single row of products isdimensioned to be less than or equal to the widest portion of a productconfigured to be supported by the bottom member.
 6. The product displayunit of claim 3, further comprising a plurality of support members, atleast one of the support members being configured to mechanically engagethe bottom member and the top member.
 7. The product display unit ofclaim 1, further comprising a pusher disposed in mechanical cooperationwith the bottom member, the pusher configured to proximally urge aproduct in contact therewith.
 8. The product display unit of claim 1,further comprising a proximal rail disposed adjacent a proximal portionof the bottom member, the proximal rail configured to maintain productson the bottom member in response to a proximally-directed force.
 9. Asystem for displaying bottles, the system comprising: at least onebottom member, the bottom member including a product-supporting surface;and a plurality of ribs, each rib projecting upwardly from theproduct-supporting surface and extending longitudinally along the bottommember, two adjacent ribs defining a distance therebetween, wherein thedistance between adjacent ribs is dimensioned to be less than the widestportion of a bottle configured to be supported by the bottom memberbetween the adjacent ribs.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein anupper-most edge of each rib extends between about 0.25 inches and about1.25 inches from the product-supporting surface.
 11. The system of claim9, wherein the upper-most edge of each rib is configured to occupy thespace under a contour of a bottle.
 12. The system of claim 9, furthercomprising at least one top member disposed in mechanical cooperationwith an associated bottom member, the top member configured tomechanically engage a neck of a bottle.
 13. The system of claim 12,wherein each top member includes a longitudinally extending channel, thechannel being configured to guide the neck of the bottle in alongitudinal direction.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein the width ofthe top member associated with a single row of bottles is dimensioned tobe less than or equal to the widest portion of the bottle configured tobe supported by the bottom member.
 15. The system of claim 12, furthercomprising a plurality of support members, at least one of the supportmembers being configured to mechanically engage at least one bottommember and at least one top member.
 16. The system of claim 9, furthercomprising a pusher disposed in mechanical cooperation with each bottommember, each pusher configured to proximally urge a bottle in contacttherewith.
 17. The system of claim 9, further comprising a proximal raildisposed adjacent a proximal portion of the bottom member, the proximalrail configured to maintain products on the bottom member in response toa proximally-directed force.
 18. The system of claim 9, wherein theplurality of ribs includes a first set of ribs and a second set of ribs,each rib of first set of ribs having a different height than each rib ofthe second set of ribs.